Fiber optic shape sensing (OSS) systems are very valuable for device tracking since they provide 3D position and shape information along the entire length of a device. This, for example, allows the instrument to be registered to intra-operative or preoperative medical images, thereby assisting guided navigation during an intervention or surgical procedure.
Due to a small fiber footprint (less than ˜400 μm), OSS enabled devices can be used for navigation in endovascular and endoluminal interventions, which involve passing through vessels and lumens of small diameters. This small footprint also allows OSS enabled devices to access, minimally invasively, areas such as peripheral airways, which a standard scope cannot reach.
However, merely reaching a target is not the end goal, and in most medical procedures, following the navigation step, an action, such as a biopsy or drug delivery is performed. Present OSS enabled devices are not suited to performing such actions.